Within the cold palace, the occasional piercing screams or eerie laughter sent chills down one's spine in the dead of night.
At this moment, the door to the cold palace was pushed open. A cold wind rushed in, whipping the overgrown weeds inside, on which a person lay motionless, as if dead.
The newcomer walked in and closed the door. However, the cold palace was dilapidated, and even closing the door could not keep out the biting wind.
"Xue Yutong." The newcomer raised a leg and kicked the motionless Empress. Now deposed and confined to this cold palace, the Empress found all those who had once fawned over her now avoiding her.
The Empress opened her eyes and glanced at the newcomer, sneering, "What, are you here to see how miserable I am now?"
"The Crown Prince took his own life. Do you know?"
The Empress certainly knew. The day the Crown Prince committed suicide, a eunuch had rushed to tell her and had subjected her to further humiliation. With the Crown Prince dead, her hopes of a comeback were extinguished, and soon the Emperor would take her life as well. She no longer had the will to resist, only longing for a swift death. Su Dan Novel Network.
"What, are you just going to lie here and wait for death?" The newcomer was none other than Consort De.
The Empress scoffed repeatedly, "What else? Grovel, let you all torment me, and then kill me?"
"The Crown Prince was not killed by himself, he was murdered."
The Empress's expression shifted slightly. She had suspected this all along. The Crown Prince was her son; he had ambition, but lacked the capability. If he had possessed the fortitude to take his own life, he wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.
"Why are you here today? What do you want?"
"Do you know why you've fallen to this point?" Consort De asked slowly. "Do you think it was Xue Guojiu who betrayed you, leading to your downfall?"
"Wasn't it?"
"Xue Guojiu has always supported the Crown Prince. Why would he suddenly defect? Have you never considered the reason?" Consort De spoke gradually. "In this palace, everyone lives under the Empress Dowager's dominion. You do, and so do I."
The Empress sat up. "What do you mean?"
"The Empress Dowager already knew about the Crown Prince's rebellion. It was the Empress Dowager who seized the Eldest Imperial Grandson, forcing the Crown Princess and Xue Guojiu to betray you," Consort De explained calmly. "The Crown Prince was brought down, but the Empress Dowager was not satisfied. She wanted the Crown Prince dead, all to elevate her own child to the throne."
"Her child? What child does she have?"
"Heh heh." Consort De laughed, a bitter laugh. "You will never guess where her child is."
The Empress, looking at Consort De's despairing demeanor, frowned. "I thought you, as the victor of this palace struggle, would be overjoyed. Yet, you seem unhappy."
"Victor?" Consort De sneered. "What is a victor? We are merely pawns in the Empress Dowager's hands."
"Didn't the Empress Dowager always dote on you?"
"She doted not on me, but on her son!" Consort De looked at the Empress. "We have a common enemy. The Empress Dowager killed my son, and she killed your son. Since you are going to die anyway, why not avenge your son before you do?"
The Empress narrowed her eyes. "Consort De, are you out of your mind? In my current state, do you think I can kill the Empress Dowager? I fear I cannot even leave this cold palace."
"What if I help you?" Consort De asked softly. "We cooperate, and avenge our respective children. What do you say?"
"Isn't Prince Qi your child?" the Empress asked after a moment of silence.
"No, he is the Empress Dowager's illegitimate son with Jin Xiao. They swapped my child, and my child... was murdered by the Empress Dowager." Consort De's eyes reddened, but she held back her tears, refusing to let them fall.
The Empress understood. Consort De had come to seek her out merely to use her against the Empress Dowager. However, she now had nothing left but her life. If she could avenge her son, then even death would be meaningful.
"Deal. What must I do?"
Consort De took a package from Qing Jun and handed it to the Empress. "This contains what you need. Please, Your Majesty, wait patiently for a few days. When the palace is in chaos, it will be your time to act. My maid will come to escort you."
The Empress opened the package and looked inside. It contained a set of palace maid attire and a dagger. The Empress took the items. "I understand."
"During this time, no one will bother you," Consort De said calmly. Since she intended to use the Empress for revenge, she wanted the Empress to live comfortably before her death. Otherwise, how could she ensure the Empress's unwavering dedication to her cause?
"In that case, thank you."
The Empress watched Consort De's retreating figure, then carefully hid the package. She knew of the Empress Dowager's control over the harem. She had lived her life in the palace with utmost caution, fearing the Empress Dowager's wrath and a miserable end. Yet, in the end, she could not escape the Empress Dowager's grasp, and it had cost the Crown Prince his life.
"Brother, did you truly betray me to protect the Eldest Imperial Grandson?" the Empress murmured to herself. She did not know the motives behind Xue Guojiu's betrayal, but the survival of the Eldest Imperial Grandson offered a glimmer of hope. She hoped Xue Ning'er could take good care of the children, so that her and the Crown Prince's marriage would not be in vain.
Since the palace coup, the palace patrols had become increasingly stringent. Consort De had encountered patrolling guards several times, but managed to evade them.
"Your Majesty, why are you hiding?" Qing Jun asked, puzzled. "You are now in charge of the harem. It is natural for you to be seen in the palace. Hiding like this would surely arouse suspicion."
Consort De looked at Qing Jun and couldn't help but laugh. "I was overthinking. I am the mistress of this harem now. It is perfectly natural for me to appear anywhere within it. There's no need to hide."
"Your Majesty is wise."
"By the way, have you found any trace of my unfortunate child?" Consort De asked, still deeply concerned for her biological son, despite having accepted Prince Qi. He was, after all, the child she had carried for ten months and given birth to with great hardship, flesh and blood from her own body. It was a cruel irony that she didn't even know what her own son looked like.
Qing Jun lowered her head. "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have found out."
"Where is he?" Consort De asked excitedly.
Qing Jun looked up at Consort De with a pained expression. Seeing this, Consort De instantly understood. Her unfortunate child had likely lost his life!
"He's dead?"
Qing Jun slowly nodded.
Consort De swayed, but quickly regained her balance. "Who is he?"
"Jin family's eldest son, Jin Yu."
Consort De's pupils contracted. Jin Yu? It was her nephew, Jin Yu! No wonder she had always felt a sense of closeness to Jin Yu. So, he was her son! This meant her brother and the Empress Dowager had conspired to swap her son with their illegitimate child!